Food, Culture, and Environment

Course: WBIS 188

Section: 006, 007

Instructor: Chatterji, Manjari

It has been said, "we are what we eat." If this is so, food is not something we merely consume for sustenance, but a lens through which we may analyze our society and culture. Our very choices in food--to eat, or to refuse to eat at McDonald's; to drink fair trade, shade grown, organic coffee, or to go for "Folger's in your cup"; to opt for a tossed salad or a hefty meat and potatoes meal; to buy our groceries at a supermarket or a farmer's market--tells as much about us as our choices of friends, political parties, places to live, careers we prepare for, and the values we live by. Thus the study of food can be a way to address broader themes of globalization, market economics, environmental concerns, and ultimately social justice.